Baked mini donuts

So, something you may not know about me is that I do not like donuts.  Mostly I don't like the taste left in my mouth after eating one and the heavy feeling I'm left with. It's great because whenever someone brings donuts to the office, it's easy for me to avoid them! I was on Pinterest, just checking stuff out and saw a recipe for Baked Apple Cider Donuts and I thought "hmmmm interesting". I really had never heard of such a thing and since they are baked I thought it might be good.  I was right!

As it happens, a friend of mine had just bought a mini donut pan and offered to let me borrow it to see if I'd want to purchase one of my own.  I've linked the recipe in case you'd like to give it a go as well.

One thing the recipe says to do is put the batter in a ziploc and cut off the tip - I thought this technique worked really well.  I also did one batch dipped in butter and regular sugar and one dipped in butter then stevia. Both were fantastic! But the stevia had slightly less calories so I tried to only eat those. I entered the recipe into myfitnesspal and it came up with 83 calories per mini donut on the stevia dipped version.

I kind of want to try another recipe without the buttermilk and reducing the apple cider. I saw another recipe that called for apple butter which would probably take care of that step.

Fall finishes and award winning socks

I have a lot to catch up on!  Yikes.  

 This year I decided to enter some hand knits into the fair.  I entered my Duchess of Devonshire shawl, which won an "honorable mention"!  I already knew I had won on this because of friend of mine had sent me a picture while she was at the fair letting me know!  Last Friday night I made it out to the fair to check everything out.  I found my shawl first, as it was in the aisle on this mannequin figure.

Next I had entered these socks.  I thought they were fun with the contrasting colors and silver stellina.  I had written little note cards on each item telling the yarn, the pattern, when I started and ended each project.  I thought the judges might like to know?  These socks didn't win anything but it was still fun to find them in the showcase!

And here's the big surprise!!!  I got a first place prize ribbon for my eyelet socks!  Wooo hooo!  I truly did not expect to win, at all.  One of the doctors at the clinic I work at had entered a pair of socks that were cables cuff to toe and I thought for sure those would win! She did win 3rd place.  My first place was a shock!  I didn't realize it at the time but I also won $10 :)  I thought the prize was the ribbon - even bigger surprise!  Now every time I wear these socks I will remember they are prize winners. ha!

Last weekend I finished up these Halloween quilted items.  There's a couple pillow cases, a table runner (in front, folded) and a table topper.  I'm giving the table topper to a friend.  I bound them all with a thin black and white striped fabric, so fun!

The other quilted item I worked on last weekend and finished the binding today was this mini quilt.  When I bought this house with the fireplace, I knew that the open space above the mantle would be perfect for mini quilts!!!  

Honestly I think I could go a bit bigger but I like it.

The pattern did not have the little borders in between the o's.  I sort of wish I hadn't done those now, but meh.  I sort of like it.  Sort of don't.  But, it's not like I hate it and it's ok.  I really love the fabrics I used, they are sort of Fall but I think can also be used at other times too, you know?  I didn't use anything that screams, this is only Fall!  

Since I had finished that up I started putting out decorations.  I wasn't going to because my energy is super low.  I've had a cold all week and it has just drained my mojo.  boo.  But!  This week it is officially Fall so I just took my time.

It was fun because I had put things on the mantle, then take a step back and was like, nope.  Still needs something or don't like that.....it's now pretty close to really great!  ha.  Also!  I almost, almost forgot this little turkey pillow!  I did forget it last year.  

It's so fun having this new house, a new layout of furniture and surfaces to decorate.  That was one thing I *loved* doing at our old house when my husband was alive.  Every season I would take everything down, unpack the new season and enjoy all the things I've collected and love.  It's been 3.5 years since he died and I'm just now starting to want to do that again and get a bit of joy from it.

In knitting news I am almost finished with all the parts for a little animal.  There's nothing to really show since nothing is sewn together yet.  It's been nice since my energy has been like nothing to have just little pieces to knit and finish.  I'm really missing having a sock on the go though!  Oh! I found a new podcast (to me) that I really like!  It's called Bookend Knits, you can find it on youtube here.  It is seriously cracking me up.  It's two ladies who are identical twins, they chat about knitting, books, yarn, nerdy stuff....and they are quirky.  I love quirky!  So, I have been binge watching them, I'm on episode 4.

I just have to say that I'm so glad I found podcasts.  Mostly knitting podcasts.  In my real, regular life I know a few knitters but that's just about all we have in common.  The podcasts I really like also read, do other crafts, they have a sense of humor.  It's nice to "chat" with them!  If you don't watch podcasts I know that may sound funny but most podcasters also have some type of forum where you can interact, ask questions and such.  Anyway, I just wanted to say it's been nice to have that connection.

Fall finishing

I have a few finishes to share.  First up: pickles!  Last weekend it dawned on me that Summer is officially over and I didn't make even one jar of pickles!  Last year I made a ton but I'm down to a couple pickles in the fridge and a jar of sliced pickles that I haven't opened.  So I thought, I guess I could buy pickles, no big deal.  Ugggggggg! but no homemade pickles for an entire year??? nope, it won't do! I found myself at farmer's market Saturday morning picking up any and all suitable cucumbers, which were very sparse.  So!  I have 3 jars that I will use sparingly this year.  

And then.  I'm back to cross stitching.  I got hung up on this frame for Peter Pan because the pattern did not have Tinkerbell in it!  What?  And there was a mermaid in the water next to Peter.  It just didn't feel right to me.  I know that there are mermaids in the story but to me the crocodile stood out more.  I saw a few people on Instagram also added a croc.  But Tink just wasn't as easy to figure out.  I finally just thought I'll add her even if she's tiny since she's a fairy anyways! So that's what I did.  And now I can move on :) I also changed Peter's hair to red and gave him blue eyes and a smirk.

 I'm not sure if I mentioned that I finished the Thunderstorm MKAL shawl?  I did!  And it is blocking right this minute!  I have it folded in half so it will be symmetrical and also so it would fit on the blocking mat.  It's pretty big, this thing!  I tried to stretch it as much as I could to open out the eyelets.

Here's a bit of a close up:

Oh yes!  Last weekend I rearranged my living room!  I'm really digging the set up now.  A small change, really, but a huge difference.  In this corner I used to have a plant stand.  I moved the plant stand into the kitchen and moved this bookshelf in it's place.  Now I have a little book nook corner.  It's so cozy I love it!

And, since I was rearranging I put out my Fall decorations.  I haven't really put up decorations for Fall since before my husband died.  But, the mood hit so I did it and I really like it.   

 Every year at the end of Summer there is a rummage sale that Jan and I always go to.  The second day of the sale, Saturday midday, they have a bag sale.  And we can usually split a bag and stuff a ton in there!!!  This year, this pile of sheets was my score.  I got all this for $2!!!  The bag was $4 and so we each paid half.  I must admit I came out better in the deal but I know Jan doesn't mind.

Now, I know you're wondering how many sheets does one person need?  ha!  So, vintage sheets have many uses.  The plain ones are going to be perfect to cover my couch so that Rocky can live there and shed his little short hairs and I don't lose my sanity :)  The others, I can use as quilt backs.  You get a ton of yardage for next to nothing.  I only buy sheets that don't have stains and are in very good shape.  The first thing I do is wash them all up and they are ready to use!  Also, I have found that they are great for making tote bags, reusable shopping bags, quilts.  That's just what I do.

The first thing I added to my bag was this little linen doily.  It is so sweet.  Not sure if you can tell but it's hand embroidered with little birds next to the flowers.

Oh my goodness!  Sorry for the photo overload!  But, I think I'm pretty caught up now.  Rocky and I are doing some serious chilling out this weekend.  Big plans today include painting my nails, cross stitching and maybe knitting on my socks.  Maybe if I get a wild hair I'll sew something!  I have to day I'm just really loving all the handmade things in my house right now.  It warms my heart.  Hopefully you're having a great, relaxing Fall weekend as well.

Mr. Fox and quilt top

I've got lots of pictures to share!  Yesterday I knitted and visited with a couple friends.  It was nice while I was still feeling under the weather to just take it easy.  I got a lot done on Mr. Fox.  This morning I was determined to finish him up.  George was determined to be right in the way!

 I had just finished sewing the tail on and about to start the face and she was right up in the middle of everything, as usual!

And there she goes, sticking her curious face into my notions bag!

 And so I finally got this guy finished.  I don't really think he looks like a fox, do you?  Not sure what he looks like really but very cute.  I am planning to make him a little sweater and possibly trousers.

Tail view: 

I tried to get him to stand on his own, so here he is in some "wildlife" by the plant.

To finish the face on Mr Fox I had to go out the craft house and root around for some black yarn.  Doing so I got distracted by my modern maples quilt top that I had about 1/2 sewn together!  So, I pressed play on the book on cd I'm currently listening to and pulled up my chair to the sewing machine.  I'm listening to Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, it's the 4th book of that series.   The top is now sewn together and measures about 72 x 72.  I'm considering adding a bit of a border but not sure.

So, this is my attempt at an artsy quilt photo!  LOL  I look at other blogs and they take their finished quilt tops to fun locations or pretty places and get pictures in interesting ways.  And so I was like, hmmmmm I'm still in pjs so not going anywhere anyone can see me - what can I do with what I have?  I also have not raked my fallen leaves, quilt is maple leaves, ding dong!  I'll take a picture of my leaf quilt amongst fall leaves!  bahahahhaahhahahaaaaa haha hah ha.  So, I'm not a fancy photographer!  And I'm just fine with that.

Here's an artsy fartsy fall leaf picture for you.  I think my grass thinks it's spring because it has started growing like crazy and super green.

Anyway.  I've mentioned that I've been watching knitting podcasts.  This weekend I have been enjoying newest episodes (releases?) from my favorites.  The Dancing Geek (James) who is just lovely.  The Bakery Bears which are Dan and Kay Jones, and they had some really great news to share! Dan has gotten the all clear from an illness.  Today I got caught up on the Brant and Sherry podcast which is on itunes.  I was about to move onto something else but noticed that my google alert bell was on and the newest Come Knit With Us was released!  So I'm listening/watching that as I type.  Those girls are a hoot!  So silly.  Love them all.  I thought since I've mentioned that I started watching I'd share links so you can join too if you'd like.  I looked a bit today to see if I could find any quilting podcasts but only found audio podcasts, not video.  And they didn't seem quite as silly as these so I didn't keep listening - but if you know of any I'd love to check them out!

daily view for Fall

This is my daily view from the upstairs room of our office.  (you can click on the picture to get a better view) That orange tree is so vibrant and beautiful!  I've been meaning to take a picture of it for a couple weeks and last weekend we had really high winds so I was sure that the leaves would have been shook loose.  But no.  So this was taken out the window late yesterday.  The brown tree was almost as vibrant until a week ago and the yellows are beautiful as well I think.  Yesterday it poured rain almost all day!

Right now, I am a cesspool of sickness and germs!  Uggggg.  I work in a doctor's office so you can imagine the things I have been exposed to.  But, truly, my immune system rocks!  And as soon as I feel any inkling of yuck I take airborne and drink juice and mooooore water.  So usually that with keeping a positive attitude - I tell myself all day that I can't get sick because my immune system is so strong- I usually don't succumb.  But this week was the perfect storm of stress, lack of sleep and exposure.  Last night was probably the worst with chills, aches, coughing and snot.

In other news, this weekend I think I will try and sew together the quilt top of my modern maples quilt and maybe make a pillow top out of my finished cross stitch.  I have a dinner to go to tonight for Charese's retirement.  Otherwise the weekend is wide open and perfect for pjs, movies, sewing and knitting.  And probably some podcasts.....not gunna lie :)

apple dog

This guy.  My Rocky dog loves apples.  I had an apple in my purse from the day before, I hadn't eaten it as my snack at work.  He nosed it out of my purse.  He was absolutely adorable, licking it and then taking a choice bite, the licking again.  Juicy apple to be enjoyed by a puppy.

sewing weekend

This is one of the trees in my back yard.  It has these teensy tiny apples on it, it's kind of pretty.  Except that all those teeny apples end up on the ground, get squished and traipsed into the house by the dogs or myself.  But!  It's very Fall.

 Yesterday I didn't have any plans on my schedule.  I thought about doing several things, and at one point was going to make my way to the annual rummage sale at the fairgrounds.  But, ended up just staying home and sewing.  I worked on my Modern Maples quilt.  Now that I've added more cream backround squares and a couple of plain I like it.  Also, I really like the squares that are a mix of fabrics in the same color.  I thought about doing the whole quilt that way but I think I'm going to keep it a mix of both for now.

I had early dinner plans with a friend so I had started this mug rug just before getting ready to go and then I finished it this morning before going to church.  It's going to be heading off in a little care package with the square that I knitted.  The circle in the middle didn't quite come out perfectly circular but eh, oh well.  You can't exactly tell from the picture but the binding is glittery fabric.  Mom had given me this scrap bag of fabric a couple years ago that had mixed in pieces of binding.  Like must have been the tail ends of a project's binding.  This piece was one of those scraps and was just the perfect size for a mug rug!

This afternoon I've been watching podcasts and knitting :)  Such a pleasant way to while away the time.  I have to say that it is taking a ton of restraint not to cast on or start so many new projects!  I keep seeing cute or fun or interesting things and wanting to start and catching myself and saying nope!  Finish what you've started and then you can move on.  Funny thing is that once I get to that point I'll be past what I want to start now and will have found a hundred more things.  I'm thankful for the ideas and that I actually can make things that I see and want.

starting to fall for modern maples

This weekend I had every intention of working on my Rainy Day quilt.  I'm so close to finishing the squares for the top. Buuuuuut then!  Except for Saturday the weather has been so deliciously Fall!  Cool and crisp in the morning, warm and sunny in the afternoon, but still with that Fall feeling.  On my blogroll I came across this post and my curiosity was piqued.  What's up with Modern Maples?   So I googled and was like yeah!  I'm not on instagram (big surprise!) which is apparently the new *thing*.  Scrolling through the quilts and comments and stuff almost makes me want to be a part of that.  Buuuut then again I'm not set up for that cell phone to get that app to get on there and I'm not going to do that just to be a part of something even though it looks cool.  Anyhoo, that's a different tangent for a different day.  The good news for me is that there is a flickr pool and I am on that so I can still join in the fun there :)  There is even a free pattern link from Lark Crafts and I have a gazillion Fall fabrics to choose from.

baha!  So much to say just to get to the point of: I started a new quilt!  I have 8 squares so far and have been chopping up STASH fabric for more.  I had to fight the urge to run to Joann's to get some solid beige-y linen-y color fabric because really I have plenty already in my stash!  And, if I run out it will force some creativity, right?  yes.

This is what I have so far.  Initially my thought was to mix the beige and cream color backrounds and maybe do some 9 patch blocks as the fillers.

But, then I started to get sketchy about the beige.  I don't really like it.  Compared to the cream backround I don't feel like the colors 'pop' as much.  Except for that purple one on the top, which is my current favorite square.

I put all the cream backrounds together to see if I preferred that and I'm still not sure what I'll do.  I could make the beige ones the back of the quilt.  Except I love that purple one!    I think I may just keep mixing them up and then once it's all together maybe it will look how I originally envisioned?  Only because I want that purple one on the front :)  The middle square is a piece that I have been hoarding for quite some time.  I had bought a fat quarter because it was super expensive, from the quilt store in Chico before it went out of business and have just fussy cut the owl and pussycat scene out of it.  

p.s. do you like my super expensive high class design board?  You, too, can have this set up with just two plastic table cloths.  The kind with the fuzzy back :)  I even bought these on clearance so the whole set up maybe set me back $5!  

pumpkin-y catch up

Holy cow!  Sorry I haven't blogged in forever.  I haven't had two minutes to just be blogging for awhile, just been busy.  K, so the first project I finished up the Sunday before last.  I like the way it turned out, I just made my own pattern for tumblers with paper.  I will say that I don't really like using paper as a pattern because if you happen to be cutting repeated pieces and maybe you don't get the cutting ruler completely over the paper you can slowly trim it down until some of the pieces are not uniform.  I had that happen but still like the way it turned out.  Sorry this picture is so blurry!  But you get the idea.  I had the "ghastly ghoulies" fabric in the gray colorway from last year.  I kept thinking I'd make a runner with it but nothing looked right.  This last time I was at the LQS I bought some of the orange colorway and it all started to come together.

Here's the back view, George jumped into the picture as I was taking it!  Silly cat :)
Last weekend I went down to visit with Mom.  I drove down Friday afternoon, it was a beautiful day and drive.  It was like driving back in time to Summer!  I left home and 50 degree weather and drove into upper 90's!  I found a couple of pairs of cute boots and we ate at my favorite cheap americanized mexican place La Comida, and it was fab. 

Saturday we found a bunch of yard sales, we trolled around for awhile before I realized I might not live without coffee.  We stopped at a Starbucks, which had the most amazing ever pumpkin spice muffins!!!  So. good.  Okay, and I also learned a little life lesson.  You know how sometimes you'll hear people raving about something and you think, hmmm that sounds just okay but then you think maybe they all know something I don't?  Go with your gut on that.  Maybe tons of people like something and it's just gross.  Case in point: salted caramel latte.  GROSS.  I thought, sounds interesting and I've heard people just raving all about it.  It tasted like drinking a pretzel.  Because they put that super coarse salt on it.  After you get past the salt it's fine but that doesn't happen until about halfway down.  I say go with pumpkin spice for a seasonal "want to try".  Just sayin. 

The big fun for me was going to the pumpkin patch.  Which is a funny story because I have been driving down to Chico from here for at least 8-9-10 years or however long I've lived here.  And in between Red Bluff and Chico there has been a sign that looked like it should be a pumpkin patch, "Pumpkinland".  So, when Mom and I were thinking we'd go to a pumpkin patch I immediately thought of that place and it'd be perfect.  We drove all the way out there and it's really called "Pumpkinland Chocolate Factory"!  Whoops!  It smelled divine in there!  Luckily there was a fruit stand up the road with a little pumpkin patchy area and we had fun picking out the perfect pumpkins.  I should mention that we had been driving with the windows down, so my hair is pretty scary.

Here were the winning pumpkins on my porch the night I got home.  Sorry the picture is so dark.  I also picked a bigger oranger pumpkin that is in my kitchen.  I also picked up some of those miniature pumpkins that were super cute, a couple of orange ones, a couple white with greenish stripes and a white one.  I brought those in to work and put them on the front desk where Vikkie and I sit.  It's funny because the patients are just fascinated by the white and the striped ones!  They are so curious where I could have found such exotic pumpkins.  The funny thing is that I think I've seen similar ones at the plain old grocery store!  Oh, well.  I'm glad it brings them joy and awe.

I totally scored at the library book sale!  I got two walmart sized bags of books on tape for the hubs!  .50 cents each!  Super score.  Mom also found a whole bunch of Beverly Lewis books that I hadn't read yet, so I've got lots of reading to do!
Okay, so that was last weekend, what's up for this weekend?  I might, might be starting a new quilt.  I don't remember the name of the magazine I just bought, but it had a really interesting looking quilt on the cover.  It's scrappy but also structured.  Mom gave me a huge bag of fabric scraps that she scored at a sale and the lady couldn't give them to her fast enough for .50 cents!  I've sorted through the bags, and I think it will fit the bill for the quilt on the cover.  The other fun thing about the scrap bags is that there are tons of pieces of leftover binding!  So, I might even be able to eke out the binding for the quilt with those.  We'll see, it might not be quite enough or the right colors.
I started a new book last, which means I am currently reading 3 books.  Um, more accurately I have started 3 books and really just hooked into one.  It's the last book in a series from Beverly Lewis called The Mercy.  I have been waiting for it to come out, then on the wait list at the library so I was eager to start it.  I have, of course, already read the ending and it is satisfying :)  I'm pretty sure I'll finish it before the weekend is over, her books are easy reads and I always want to keep reading.  Like just one more chapter, then I finish that one and then I'm like, just one more chapter! 
Next weekend is the scrapbook retreat!  That will be fun :)  What is everyone else up to???

better late than never weekend update

And so, what have I been up to?  A little bit of this and a little bit of that!  I actually finished this project last weekend but didn't want to share it until the recipient had rec'd it so as not to spoil it.  I signed up to do a swap on swap-bot for quilters.  I have been wanting to make a mug rug forever so thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try it out.  I made up a little pattern for the mini dresden plate, I can't find the exact tutorial that I followed to make the pattern, but this one is sort of close.  Basically you make a circle and divide it in 4 then each 4th divide into 3, cut out a wedge and then shorten a little and add seam allowances.  I decided Fall colors because I thought that would be appropriate.  And because I love fall colors :) 

Then I was looking around Pinterest and came across a type of wreath that just made me swooon!  I thought, I have to make one!  They are made with giant mesh ribbon.  I looked all over our little berg and the widest ribbon in the colors I wanted were 2.5".  So this is the first wreath I made.  The colors are for the Oregon Ducks.  Around here you're either a Ducks fan or a Beavers fan.  I'm not really either because I don't watch sports, but I do like to put up a wreath! 
I liked the way the first wreath turned out but couldn't really get over the other kind with the super wide ribbon.  I googled "deco mesh" and turns out it's 21" inches wide!  Dang dude!  And, since I am super impatient and did not want to have to wait for shipping I thought of tulle.  It's super cheap and wide.  So, I followed the same basic priciple and gathered a bit, pinned it down and then every 12 inches or so gathered and then pinned about 3 inches from the first spot.  I had a bunch of yellow ribbon left from the first wreath so I added that.  I'm not thrilled with the "O" but, eh, it needed something.  I used foam backed with cardboard and just glued on some poms. 

The first wreath I gifted to Karlie and the second one is going on my front door!

Now for the super exciting find of the whole weekend!!!!!  Um, okay, so my whole life I've had this sort of fantasy of living in Maine.  Somewhere on the East coast and living an LL Bean kind of life.  Part of that life would include sitting around in Adirondack chairs near a lake just gazing out or reading a book with a glass of sweet tea.  Not that sweet tea is an East Coast thing, I think it's more of a Southern thing, but hey, it's my fantasy :)  So, I walk into the Hospice thrift and I'm browsing around and sometime after I got in there these chairs were dropped off......green chippy Adirondack chairs!  Eeeek!  Two of them with $4 marked on each one.  Double eeeek!  Of course that store only takes cash and you can use a debit card if it's $10 or more.  If you know me at all you'll know that I sure wasn't going to pick up $2 worth of stuff to be able to use my debit card and I never carry cash!  Bah.  But, I was at the store at 10:02 the next morning when they opened with cash! 

Here's one of them, I really should have swept off the deck area for the pic, sorry!  But, you get the idea!  I'm debating sanding them down to the wood and sealing them.....or just finding some sort of sealer to keep them chippy.  I already know what my Mom with say - leave em chippy.  I just don't always love chippy though, it makes me feel unkempt for some reason.   Anyways though!  I LOVE them!  l.o.v.e.
Sunday I went to the quilt show at the fairgrounds.  I haven't really been to a quilt show before and I'm not sure how I felt about it.  I certainly appreciated the workmanship and the stitching was perfect.  That's kind of it, though.  Too perfect.  There were a few quilts that were just gorgeous, beautiful colors and some originality.  There were a lot of traditional quilts, cutesy quilts, and some kind of plain ones.  I didn't see anything my style really.  Not that I have a particular style I don't think?  It made me realllllly want a real quilting machine.  I love my little singer, it's really worked hard for me.  And really, who has 4 grand laying around for a sewing machine??? not me, that's for sure!
This Saturday there's a scrapbooking thing, that should be fun!  Not sure what I will work on yet.  Maybe cards again?  It will be nice to chat and catch up with the ladies.

Owl Banner

I saw this super duper cute owl banner as a link on Jennifer's blog and was like - ooooooh I have to try that! I used courderoy instead of tweed, and while I was looking through my button stash decided to add some colorful ones for the eyes on a couple of them. I LOVE the way it turned out! I cut out enough cord to make two since my good friend Jan is loving owls at the moment! So, today I took the day off work since the doctors are out of town and I visited my mom this past weekend. After updating my blog-a-roo I am going to be sewing, sewing, sewing! Okay, I realize this nut chopper pic is totally random! I bought it a few months ago and finally had the chance to use it last weekend! My Mom always had a nut chopper similar to this one while I was growing up and I remember that was my job when I was helping her bake :)

The visit with my mom was totally great, very relaxing. We went through some fabric stashes since I am working on my first quilt and she could barely stand her excitement!!!! And frankly I lucked out, because she has an amazing stash! tons of vintage fabric, lots of beautiful prints, every kind of fabric imaginable really. So, my car is still packed up with boxes and bags of FABRIC! I also got to look through her super secret stash of vintage buttons!

She also gave me a fold up hammock that I will be setting up! I've been looking forward to chilling out in that all summer. The thing is my car does not have air conditioning and so the drive down to Chico is absolutely miserable in 100+ degree weather, as it was last Friday when I drove down. Yuck. It was certainly worth it to see my Mom and also best friend Jeannette. I had a narrow window of time to deliver the scrapbook and knitted cloths to her, I made it just in time! I must have looked a fright unfortunately since I had just driven into town! The cloths I had actually started before Christmas, with the intention of mailing them for Christmas, but that didn't quite work the way I had planned it :)

Weekend update

This is what a beautiful clear day looks like from the back driveway! I was on my way down to lounge in the hammock. You can see the hills in the backround now, in the previous post the smoke was covering them and I like to pretend we live on the coast. So my hubbity bubbity went fishing at the real coast this weekend but before he left I asked him to set up the hammock for me. It was sooooooo cold though this weekend!!! Very windy (gale force winds LOL - inside joke) and like 60 degrees and below. I grew up in Chico where Labor Day was still H-O-T! I'll trade 60 degrees for 110+ any day though. So, there's the hammock and the view through the trees. Next time I'm going to take down a sleeping bag and that should be about perfect!





































Not sure if I mentioned it before, but I LOVE FALL!!!! I love the smell and the crisp air and the colors and decorating my house Fallish! So the tree on the table was a garage sale find, it had been painted gold. Now, I love gold, but it didn't quite fit for decorations to really stand out. So I spray painted it matte white. I usually put pumpkins in an arrangement on the table and string the fall leaves around those, but pumpkins are not in stores yet! I guess I'm a little early.....anyway so I put them in the tree on a whim and I kinda liked it :) I found the crow at the dollar store of all places! Hubby was so funny, he came in the house and was like I like the decorations. Then he goes, you know there's a crow on your tree you might want to shoo it away! And Truckie of course HAD to be in the middle of everything! He's so cute. Although it was getting annoying because he kept rubbing his face on the tree and almost knocking it over!

































The cupcakes I actually made the weekend before last for Jan's ladies night. We usually get together every few months or so and play board games and laugh incessantly! It's a blast! Oh, and we also bring food - food and laughter just go together I think. They were lemon with cream cheese frosting and then I had picked some blackberries in the back yard and topped them with those. I had thought I burned the cupcakes because I put them in the oven and then started watching a show and whoops! 20 minutes longer than they should have been in the oven I remembered they were still in oven! Argh! Luckily in this case our oven doesn't bake evenly so the top was more done than the bottom. Last night I picked the berries in the colander down the driveway by the mail boxes. I took June (our black lab) with me and after like 15 minutes she decided she was done! and laid right down in the middle of the driveway! So silly. I put a handful of blackberries in my oatmeal this morning and it was de-lish!